So…Monday we started out with such high ambitions.Monday night I threw my back out.Tuesday I spent home, recovering from my back issues.Wednesday I forced myself into work only to find out they’d cut our deadline for calculating payroll by almost two weeks. And the “check engine� light came ...

I’ve had some version of this site up and running since 2003, when I became frustrated with how difficult it was to search through previous columns I’d written for IMDb. 1 Unlike most blogs,2 many of the 1,000+ posts on this site are still highly relevant today. They’re answers to ...

Sorry I haven’t posted this week. Recovery from the snow trip was followed by a dentist appointment (and the news I have to get a root canal!), followed by more recovery, followed by our crazy trip to see the Lakers on Thursday (more on that later – but it involved VIP tickets and getting stuck ...

My assistant Matt went to the WGA panel last night, and took notes for readers who couldn’t make it. All panelists agree that the business is shrinking. Development slates are being cut in half. According to J.C. Spink, that means half the (400m?) dollars usually being paid out to writers and ...

I recently parted ways with a writing partner, and while untangling the issue of who gets to keep what material, a nagging issue has surfaced, to which I cannot find a satisfactory answer. I decided I wanted to go ahead and complete a script we had both outline, but the premise of which was his. I c...

Is there a hard and fast rule for first time screenwriters correctly writing their slug lines? I understand that it is for the production people to know WHERE and WHEN to shoot the scene. But I’ve also been told on the boards of quite a few screenwriting forums by supposed professionals, that ...

Let’s say I’m a development exec and I’m going into a meeting with a writer (a big, successful one) whom I’ve met before — but it was a brief conversation and it was ten years ago, possibly longer. When the writer says, “Nice to meet you,” I shouldn’t ...

A reader writes in requesting a reexamination of my post “The Perils of Coincidence” in light of an acclaimed movie which is already a screenwriting award contender: This weekend, I saw Slumdog Millionaire, a story that is succinctly described by the equation: “I knew the answer to...

Why is it mandatory that you have to join the WGA when you sell a script? Why can’t you just go on about doing your own thing? – Ethan Gentzsch Because if it weren’t mandatory, studios would pressure writers not to join. That seems like too simple of an answer, but it makes sense i...

I have lots of questions, but by all means choose two you’d like to answer. – Ric New Zealand 1) What’s the commercial potential of movies without happy endings? I’m tired of every movie having to end in a good way, even if that’s a main character surviving a slasher fl...